RD306 - Assessing the Impact and Effectiveness of Virginia’s Crisis Intervention Team Programs FY2011 (§ 9.1-190) - November 15, 2011


Executive Summary:
Legislative Directive

Legislation passed in the 2009 General Assembly Session amended Sections 9.1-102, 9.1-187, 9.1-188, 9.1-189 and 9.1-190 of the Code of Virginia directing the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to “…support the development and establishment of crisis intervention team programs in areas throughout the Commonwealth.” The legislation also set forth criteria for the two departments to use in implementing its provisions, directed that an initial status report be submitted to the Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) in November 2009 and that the departments submit an annual report in 2009, 2010 and 2011, assessing the impact and effectiveness of crisis intervention team programs in meeting statutory program goals. Herein is the final assessment report in accordance with § 9.1-190.

Introduction

The Commonwealth of Virginia is making great strides in identifying and addressing the challenges encountered when individuals with behavioral health issues become entangled with the criminal justice system. Beginning with its Systems Transformation initiative in 2002, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) focused significant attention on criminal justice issues within the behavioral health system through the work of its Forensic Special Populations Workgroup (*1). The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) developed a white paper on Mental Health Issues in Jails and Detention Centers (*2) as part of its ‘Blueprints for Change’ series. Since 2007, the State Compensation Board has utilized an annual survey of Virginia’s 68 local and regional jails as the basis for developing its Mental Illness in Jails Reports to the General Assembly, pursuant to Acts of Assembly, 2008 Session, Chapter 879, § 53.1-83.1, § 53.1-84 and § 53.1-85, Code of Virginia (*3), the latest of which is scheduled for publication on October 1, 2011.

In October, 2006, when the Supreme Court of Virginia established the Virginia Commission on Mental Health Law Reform, it specified the inclusion of a Criminal Justice Workgroup with broad criminal justice and behavioral health stakeholder participation to develop recommendations for improving the behavioral health and criminal justice (BHCJ) systems interface. In response to the Commission’s initial recommendations published in 2007 (*4), the Commonwealth Consortium for Mental Health and Criminal Justice Transformation (*5) (Consortium) was created to bring together state agencies, as well as statewide advocacy and constituency organizations representing affected stakeholders, to develop and support policy and training to improve systems interoperability and identify training needs and options. There was not a need to renew the Consortium’s Executive Order mandate because so much progress was made in a short period of time, and it expired on June 30, 2011. However, the Consortium’s legacy as the vehicle for identifying and supporting programmatic and training activity to enhance cross system collaboration and criminal justice response to individuals with mental illness will impact the Commonwealth for many years to come.

As a direct result of the Consortium’s work, Virginia undertook a statewide initiative to provide localities with a means to understand and address local systems’ interface, utilizing the Sequential Intercept Model. One effective means of accomplishing this has been by providing professionally facilitated Cross Systems Mapping Workshops to communities across the state. Utilization of the Sequential Intercept model as a framework for understanding, discussing and improving the behavioral health and criminal justice interface is now ubiquitous across the Commonwealth, from local and regional groups to statewide efforts like Governor McDonnell’s Virginia Prisoner and Juvenile Reentry Council (*6), and the Alternatives for Non-violent Offenders Task Force. The latter two include mental health and substance abuse issues workgroups.

In 2009, sections 9.1-102, 9.1-187, 9.1-188, 9.1-189 and 190 of the Code of Virginia were amended, directing the DCJS in conjunction with the DBHDS to “…support the establishment of crisis intervention team programs in areas throughout the Commonwealth.” (*7) Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program development has coincided with and been enhanced by the improved understanding of the nexus between the criminal justice and behavioral health systems. The Consortium’s work fully embraced the training, programmatic and collaborative systems changes engendered by the development of CIT programs across the state.
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(*1) http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/documents/omh-mhtsigapplication.pdf
(*2) http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/blueprints/mentalhealthissues.pdf
(*3) Item 70, Paragraph L: “The Compensation Board shall provide an annual report on the number and diagnoses of inmates with mental illnesses in local and regional jails, the treatment services provided, and expenditures on mental health programs.
(*4) A Preliminary Report and Recommendations of the Commonwealth of Virginia Commission on Mental Health Law Reform, http://www.courts.state.va.us/programs/cmh/2007_0221_preliminary_report.pdf
(*5) See Executive Order 98, attached hereto as Appendix 1: Establishing the Commonwealth Consortium for Mental Health/Criminal Justice Transformation
(*6) http://www.governor.virginia.gov/PolicyOffice/ExecutiveOrders/pdf/EO_11.pdf
(*7) See Code sections, attached hereto as Appendix 2: Code of Virginia, 9.1-102, 9.1-187-190